Passion – What Does it Really Mean?

Why does ‘passion’ feel overused?

According to Wikipedia “passion” is considered a feeling of intense enthusiasm towards or compelling desire for someone or something. Passion can range from eager interest in or admiration for an idea, proposal, or cause; to enthusiastic enjoyment of an interest or activity; to strong attraction, excitement, or emotion towards a person.

Realizing the myriad of levels this word represents it seems to come into focus a bit more. The problem with overusing a word like passion is defining the level of passion one is referring to, it has made me search harder for a way to express myself, especially when it relates to work-related subjects more than the romantic use of the word.

All too often I hear people comment, Chef Dan you are so passionate about your work. To that I say thank you, I truly appreciate the kind gesture and it does make me feel good that I am able to convey an emotion like passion with my work but what does that mean to me?

For some, your job is a chore although you may be very good at it. However, for me, I have tried to quit culinary and couldn’t. Culinary is my Prozac, without this creative outlet I get down. It’s not because I am the best chef to walk the earth or that I know it all when it comes to creating innovative new food ideas. It’s because I have this passion thing that can’t be explained so easily.

I feel amazing when I am working with food. Creating LTO’s, innovation of new flavors that are being combined with everyday foods we already enjoy, and when I am in front of customers doing the demonstration I’ve been told that my face lights up. So why is culinary and food ingrained in my subconscious so deeply that I am not happy unless I am creating something new and exciting?

I thought long and hard on this one and what I realized is that it boils down to one thing, my beliefs. To me, this is “my” why. If you have ever read any Simon Sinek books you will understand that statement. The more I follow his insights the better I realize what drives me to believe.

“I believe in flavor, I believe in delivering more than expected, I believe in simple creations that push the boundaries of the unexpected and I believe in doing the right thing. It’s these beliefs that drive me to give my best efforts to generate results that hopefully wow my customers.” – Chef Dan (Founder of Food Trend Translator)

Being able to translate products, flavors, and trends into actionable applications that create operational efficiencies, invigorating core products with strategic menu options is empowering. Believing your product is the one thing that can transform the menu and creating new ways to wow your customers is why we believe in your success. What we bring to the table is PRICE: Powerful, Invigorating, Strategic & Empowering Synergy with a process.